Newsletters for Beginners Part 1

by Alicia S. | Oct 4, 2019 | Daily Discussions, Monthly Discussions, Newsletters | 0 comments

Just starting out with newsletters??
No worries. We’ve got your back.

There is tons of information out there on newsletters…

Are you scratching your head and asking…

“What are newsletters? Why do I need them? And how can they benefit me?”

Then you’re in the right place. I was in the same boat as you are now about a year ago. Though I won’t call myself the total expert.

However, I can lend you my thoughts and knowledge on what I’ve learned about newsletters.

Follow along this month as Burning Embers guides you through the vast amounts of information there is on newsletters and clarifies what you truly need to know and what you can kick to the curb.

So, what are newsletters?

Have you ever subscribed to something and received an email from that store or person like once a month, bi-weekly or even weekly?

That’s a newsletter.

Usually it has updates from the person or shop letting you know what’s going on and if there’s any cool sales or goodies that you can purchase.

Some newsletters have freebie offers. Tons of people love these. In fact that is how most people get subscribed to newsletters through the lure of a free item.

We’ll go deeper into freebies / lead magnets later this month. For now just know that this is how most people end up subscribed to newsletters.

But basically a newsletter is an update in the form of an email sent to a list of people who subscribed to your list. Newsletters are sent out on either a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or even quarterly basis. It is rare for a newsletter to not follow a schedule. Subscribers don’t like newsletters that are sent whenever.

We’ll cover schedules and what you can do to determine your newsletter cadence for your audience later on this series.

Let’s move on to why you need your own newsletter.

What’s the real reason as to why would you need to do your own newsletter?

If you’re like me then you’re probably a wee bit of an introvert. You cringe at needing to communicate with the outside world. So, the idea of a newsletter makes your heart race and your palms sweat.

Yeah. I totally understand. Really. I do.

However, you still need your own newsletter.

If you’re serious about being an author and cultivating your own fan base then you need a newsletter.

I hear ya back there screaming “But what about social media? Can’t I reach my fans there?”

No, social media should not be the solution. In fact you’re more likely to waste your time there growing an audience only to have the social media giants pull the rug out from under you. I will say that social media is good for meeting people but that’s it.

Social media is a distraction. You should do your best to direct your friends and acquaintances to your website or little spot that is off of social media. Then grow your fandom there. Trust me. Because the social media giants are only big for so long before they become yesterday’s frail has been.

Back to the reason why you need a newsletter.

Newsletters offer you the opportunity to talk to your audience on a one-on-one basis. Emails are personal. Seriously, they are. Go take a look at the last email you’ve received. If the person did it right then you felt like they were talking to you… not a whole group. That’s pretty special.

Newsletters let your audience feel more connected to you. It makes you feel human to them. Not to mention that newsletters are by far the most powerful marketing tool you can wield.

What about the saying, “Email is dead.”

That in my opinion is complete and utter 100% bull hockey. But, that is my own opinion. Email is still going strong and your audience still knows how to use it. It is well used by a wide age range. Grandma and Grandpa know how to open an email and so does little Billy down the street.

Email is here to stay (for now) and may even outlive the silly social giants but I will not hold my breath.

Now how can newsletters benefit you?

We kind of touched on this already but pretty much it will allow you to get that one-on-one connection with your audience. Dive deep to have the inside knowledge of what they want and what they truly crave.

Also, if done right you can reach thousands with the click of a mouse.

None of this bull where only 20 people out of your 500+ friends saw your post.

Nope. When you send your newsletter email it is sent directly to your subscribers’ inbox.

The only things that could prevent them from seeing it are the spam box, they have too much email or forgot to open it. We’ll cover this piece later on this month too.

As you can see is that newsletters are powerful. You can use them to do swaps (to reach more people), keep your audience informed and be on the forefront of your audiences’ mind.

If you are on the top of your subscriber’s mind then you are closer to having them remember your name when they peruse the book stores. They are more likely to purchase your products than someone else’s because you’re more familiar to them.

This my friend, is a powerful, powerful, most powerful tool.

Uh, I can see you drooling… you might want to wipe your chin. I did the same thing when I realized the potential of newsletters. For they are pretty potent with possibilities.

Conclusion

Alright let’s wrap things up about what we learned about newsletters:

1. Newsletters are emails sent to a list of subscribers on a schedule such as weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or even quarterly.
2. You need a newsletter so that you can keep an open communication with your audience outside of social media.
3. They can benefit you because you can reach a larger number with one click (as opposed to social media) and your name becomes trusted by your subscriber.

That’s about it for our introduction on newsletters. There is so much more for us to cover. We promise to continue on in this series with more information.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to ask in the comments. We’re always happy to answer for we’re all in this together.

Thank you for reading Burning Embers’ Newsletters for Beginners Part 1.

Next post will be Newsletters for Beginners Part 2 – Preparation